Water and Environment Journal.

Print ISSN 1747-6585

Water harvesting from fog using building envelopes: part II

Luisa Caldas1, Annalisa Andaloro 1,2, Giuseppe Calafiore3, Keiko Munechika3, Benjamin Taube4,
Manuel Oliveira5 & Stefano Cabrini6
1
Department of Architecture, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA; 2Institute for Renewable Energy, European
Research Academy (EURAC), Bolzano, Italy; 3aBeam Technologies Inc, Berkeley, CA, USA; 4College of Environmental Design, University of California,
Berkeley, CA, USA; 5College of Letters and Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA; and 6The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA

Keywords
atmosphere; climate change; drinking water;
engineering design; housing/homes; integrated
water management; innovation..
Correspondence
Luisa Caldas, Department of Architecture,
College of Environmental Design, University of
California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1800,
USA.
Email: lcaldas@berkeley.edu
doi:10.1111/wej.12337
Abstract
Fog harvesting stands out as a simple and inexpensive form to produce drinkable
water from alternative sources, when compared to other available techniques.
This paper presents results from a set of experiments performed on radiative con-
densers, deemed as a promising system to be integrated in building envelopes, fol-
lowing a literature review on fog condensers presented in a previous work. An
analysis of condensation potential obtained using high emissivity substrates and
titanium dioxide nanocoatings is presented, as well as the influence of sample posi-
tion and orientation, and impact of climatic variables. Finally, the role of nanotech-
nology in overcoming limitations of radiative systems is discussed as a means to
increase harvesting efficiency with functionalized, engineered nano-patterns on
collector surface. Based on biomimicry principles, nanocoatings including nano-
scale 3D optimal geometries are discussed, and the use of nanoimprint technology
(NIL) is proposed to massively produce nano-patterned panels with biomimetic fog
capturing features.

Introduction to fog harvesting
integration on building envelope
Water shortage has become critical in several regions of the
world, which are already experiencing the first symptoms of
water scarcity. Among all the available water harvesting
technologies, fog harvesting has acquired importance in the
last years, as a way to provide drinkable water to rural com-
munities (Klemm et al. 2012). This water source is more sus-
tainable compared to those mentioned above, and can
produce safe and drinkable water at low cost (Schemenauer
2010). The history of water collection from humid air dates
back to the ancient Greek period, in an area that corre-
sponds to current Ukraine (Nikolayev 1996). Other attempts
were performed in France around the 1920s, but yields were
extremely low (Beysens et al. 2003). Nowadays, progresses
in fog harvesting are reported in the FogQuest conference, a
biennial event that provides a broad audience with accurate
insights on the field. The first Fog Water Collection Manual
was published in 2005 by Schemenauer et al. (2005).
Based on a review of existing fog harvesting systems pre-
sented in the first part of this work, this paper illustrates a
proposal to bring the concept of water harvesting from fog
into the urban environment, through the exploitation of
building envelopes as potential collecting surfaces. Some
experiments have been performed to assess crucial aspects
affecting the possibility of including such systems in a build-
ing component. This work makes a step further in the con-
ception of enhanced fog collection systems that integrate
nanostructured surfaces to push condensation on the build-
ing envelope.
The number of successful projects on fog harvesting, as
presented in the first part of this work, shows promise for
the implementation of analogous systems in cities. In fact,
the exploitation of envelope surfaces, both in the case of
existing and new buildings, could provide large areas avail-
able for fog water harvesting. The integration of water col-
lecting surfaces on the building envelope could help
achieving sustainability objectives and supply water for spe-
cific building uses. This applies well to commercial and insti-
tutional (CI) end uses of water, where the amount needed
per user is limited compared to residential use, in a ratio
from 1:5 to 1:10 (Mayer et al. 1999; Dziegielewski et al.
2000).
Radiative condensers seem to be the most appealing sys-
tem for implementation on building envelope components.

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Water harvesting from fog
Fig. 1. Left (a): White metal uncoated Sample 1. Right (b): White metal
coated Sample 1, with titanium dioxide nanocoating. The coating
promotes the formation of larger droplets of condensed water, which
increases the movement of water down the tilted metal surface, for
collection at the bottom. [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Condensation phenomena taking place on the condenser
surface rely solely on temperature gradient and do not
require any air flow through the element. Still, wind direction
and speed can affect the condenser yield (Beysens et al.
2003).
Experimental measurements of
radiative systems
As radiative systems seem to hold the most promise for
application on building envelopes, an initial experimental
setup was developed to assess the main variables influenc-
ing the performance of such systems. These initial tests
were designed to help guide future research developments,
by providing insights into key variables.
The first test consisted basically on a visual inspection of
the effect of applying a titanium dioxide nanocoating on a
metal surface, in terms of promotion of coalescence. The
metal used was steel welding sheet (brushed), spray painted
with a high emissivity white paint, Krylon Flat White #1502,
with an emissivity between 0.989 and 0.992. The titanium
dioxide-based product used for the experiment is a semi-
transparent water-based solution, which embeds titanium
dioxide nanoparticles in the order of magnitude of 10–
20 nm. The coating is generally used to promote self-
cleaning behaviour of building façades, based on a strong
hydrophilicity under the effect of ultra-violet (UV) irradiation,
and a converse strongly hydrophobicity in dark conditions.
2 Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V
L. Caldas et al.
Fig. 2. Left (a): White metal uncoated Sample 2. Right (b): White metal
coated Sample 2, with titanium dioxide nanocoating. The coating
promotes the formation of larger droplets of condensed water, which
increases the movement of water down the tilted metal surface, for
collection at the bottom. [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
The effect of enhanced surface hydrophilicity promoted by
the use of a self-cleaning titanium dioxide coating is easily
detected in Figs 1(b) and 2(b), where the water contact angle
is extremely low (values close to 08) and thus drops tend to
enlarge the surface occupied on the coated area. The prod-
uct was supplied by Nextmaterials, a company specialized
on developing nanotech coatings for air and water purifica-
tion purposes. Two similar samples were used, one with a
titanium dioxide coating, the other a control sample with no
coating. The samples were placed horizontally, with a 2% tilt
to promote dripping. Observations were carried out
between 04:00 and 06:00 hours, the coldest night-time
period on June 2015.
The titanium dioxide coating displayed an improved
capacity to promote droplet coalescence, in relation to the
uncoated sample. Figures 1 and 2 show images of the metal
samples under study, which illustrate that phenomenon. In
both figures, the coated sample is on the right, while the left
image shows the uncoated sample. It can be observed that
the coating on the right promoted the formation of larger
droplets of condensed water, which in turn promotes the
movement of water across the tilted surface of metal, for
collection at the bottom (Lv et al. 2015). This is particularly
relevant because if the water does not move down, it will
evaporate before being collected, namely due to the effect
of wind on building surfaces.
The goal of the following rounds of experiments was
threefold: (1) to test the effect of applying a titanium dioxide
nanocoating for reducing surface temperature of building
materials; (2) to test the effect of materials emissivity in
reducing surface temperature; (3) to test the effect of sur-
face tilt and orientation on surface temperature, in relation
to wind speed and direction.
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L. Caldas et al.
Two rounds of experiments were performed, in Septem-
ber and December 2015. The experimental set up was
placed on the roof of Wurster Hall, the architecture build-
ing of UC Berkeley, California. A weather station was
installed next to experimental setup, to relate measured
surface temperature in the samples with air temperature,
relative humidity (RH) and wind speed and direction. In the
Berkeley climate there are frequent occurrences of high
humidity levels, due to the advection fog carried out from
the pacific coast, first into San Francisco and then into
Berkeley. Figure 3 shows that high humidity levels above
90% (dark blue dots in the image) are frequent during the
colder periods of the year. In general, California coastal
locations are good candidates for fog collection, as regions
like central and southern coastal regions of California have
266–317 days of fog per year, thus presenting very
adequate meteorological conditions to implement fog har-
vesting (Hiatt et al. 2012).
Experiment 1 compared the performance of glass sheet
and white metal sheet in terms of promotion of surface con-
densation. The metal used was steel welding sheet
(brushed), spray painted with a high emissivity white paint,
Krylon Flat White #1502, with an emissivity between 0.989
and 0.992. The glass used was a standard 3 mm float clear
glass sheet. Additionally, to test the effect of the same Next-
Materials titanium dioxide nanocoating on promoting lower
surface temperatures, for both materials (glass and metal),
there was a sample coated with titanium dioxide, and a con-
trol sample without the coating.
Finally, we tested the effect of orientation on promotion
of surface condensation. For a radiative system to succeed,
the objective is to create the lowest possible surface temper-
atures during the night period, when condensation is likely
to occur. It is thus important to maximize the exposure of
the materials to the night sky, to promote the lowest temper-
atures in the evening. A horizontal setup was thus favoured,
with a minimum tilt to promote dripping. Additionally, the
experimental setup included samples tilted 58 in relation to
the horizontal, facing the four cardinal orientations, to relate
surface temperatures with the effect of wind direction and
velocity.
Results from Experiment 1 are shown in Fig. 4. In the
legend, the first letter represents either Metal or Glass (M,
G), the second letter represents Coated or Uncoated,
Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V
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Water harvesting from fog
Fig. 3. Annual temperature
and relative humidity data from
Oakland Airport, California.
Distance to measurements site
is approximately 11 miles.
[Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
regarding the application of titanium dioxide nanocoating (C,
U) and the last letter indicates the orientation of the sample
(H for horizontal, and N, S, E or W for the tilted samples).
Figure 4 shows that the horizontal white metal sample,
coated with titanium dioxide, consistently achieved the low-
est surface temperature. Glass samples, even if coated,
were always significantly warmer (thus farther from dew
point) than all other samples, due to the lower emissivity of
glass compared to metal. A high emissivity material is funda-
mental in promoting condensation.
The metal coated horizontal (MCH, in orange in the graph)
sample consistently displayed the lowest surface tempera-
ture, due to a combination of higher emissivity from the
white metal surface, the effect of the titanium dioxide nano-
coating, and the horizontal exposure, which promoted a
higher view factor to the cold night sky, thus maximizing
radiative heat losses from the metal and decreasing its sur-
face temperature.
Figure 5 shows the temperature difference between air
temperature and surface temperature of the coated white
metal horizontal sample (MCH), which reached up to 1.48C,
thus helping to promote superficial condensation.
Experiment 2 ran from November 26 to December 21,
2015. Six samples were monitored (5 metal 1 1 glass). We
tested two tilt angles (108 or horizontal), and two orienta-
tions, East and West, which were selected according to
prevailing wind directions, as measured in previous experi-
ments. Horizontal angles were tested due to expected major
radiative cooling during the night (compared to vertical), but
the 108 tilt was added to assess the impact of providing
some protection against wind, by means of tilting the sur-
face. The legend code for the samples tested is: metal
uncoated horizontal (MUH); glass coated horizontal (GCH);
MC10FE – Metal Coated, 108 tilt, East facing; MC10FW –
Metal Coated, 108 tilt, West facing; MU10FE – Metal
Uncoated, 108 tilt, East facing; MU10FW – Metal Uncoated,
108 tilt, West facing.
Figures 6–8 display some of Experiment 2 results, and val-
ues for environmental variable such as air temperature, dew
point temperature and RH. The MUH sample is always colder
and closer to dew point temperature than the GCH sample,
showing that the low emissivity of the material is a major fac-
tor at stake, offsetting the effect of the nanocoating applied
to the glass. The MUH is always colder and closer to dew
3
Water harvesting from fog L. Caldas et al.

Fig. 4. Experiment 1:
Temperature difference
between air temperature and
surface temperature for the
different samples, between
4:00 and 6:30 hours,
September 3, 2015. [Colour
figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

Fig. 5. Experiment 1: 2 examples of temperature difference between air temperature and surface temperature of the coated white metal coated
horizontal sample (MCH), between 4:00 and 6:30 hours. Left: September 3, 2015, temperature difference reached 1.28C. Right: September 4, 2015,
temperature difference reached 1.48C. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

point temperature than the metal coated tilted samples,
demonstrating that there is no benefit in tilting the samples,
as the protection from wind is not significant, and the
decrease in the radiative heat loss to the night sky offsets it.
When comparing east facing coated versus uncoated
samples, it is more frequent that the coated surface comes
closer to dew point T, while the opposite case is rare, even if
it happens. The above applies also to samples facing west.
The relation between these occurrences and wind speed
and direction where inconclusive. However, as the horizon-
tal sample always had a better performance, continuing this
line of analysis was considered not relevant.
Experiment 2 allowed to conclude that a high emissivity
metal material with a titanium dioxide nanocoating placed
horizontally facing the night sky will achieve the lowest sur-
face temperatures.
In terms of building envelope applications, the consis-
tently poorer performance of glass in relation to metal
makes potential applications to large glazing facades less
interesting, even when self-cleaning titanium dioxide coat-
ings are applied. As for metal clad building surfaces, the fact
that horizontal samples consistently achieved lower surface
temperatures makes the research more likely to be
adequate for roofs than facades. As horizontal white metal
seems to offer the most promise, an interesting synergy
could exist with the field of cool roofs, a technology used for
decreasing heat gain in buildings, and to decrease urban
heat island effect. White metal cool roofs could then double

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L. Caldas et al. Water harvesting from fog

Fig. 6. Experiment 2: Surface

temperature for different
samples, between 4:00 and 7:00
hours, November 29, 2015.
Environmental variables: Air
temperature, relative humidity,
dew point temperature. [Colour
figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

Fig. 7. Experiment 2: Surface

temperature for different
samples, between 4:00 and 7:00
hours, December 14, 2015.
Environmental variables: Air
temperature, relative humidity,
dew point temperature. [Colour
figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

their functionality as condensation water collectors, with lit-
tle increased cost.
Analysis of climate variables
Despite the fact that the horizontal white metal coated sam-
ples reached the lowest surface temperatures, it is possible
to see that only rarely they reached surface temperatures
low enough to generate condensation (below dew point).
The percentage of time that condensation was reached was
analysed for different experiments, for the coldest period of
the day (between 4:00 and 7:00 hours). During the measure-
ment period of October 3–13, 2015, condensation happened
23% of the time. During the November 26–December 21
2015 period, condensation happened only 5% of the time. If
these calculations were performed for the entire 24 h period
of the day, then the October 3–13 period would drop to 3%
of the time, and the November 26–December 21 period

Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V

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Water harvesting from fog
Fig. 8. Experiment 2: Surface
temperature for different
samples, between 4:00 and 7:00
hours, December 11, 2015.
Environmental variables: Air
temperature, relative humidity,
dew point temperature. [Colour
figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
would represent only 0.7% of the time. Note that this rough
calculation does not account for any rain periods, and
already takes into account the lower surface temperature
that the high-emissivity coated metal is able to achieve in
relation to air temperature, thus making it more likely for
condensation to occur. This estimative shows that the peri-
ods of the day in which condensation might actually occur
will be limited, even though that will vary significantly with
local climate conditions.
A more detailed analysis of the combined behaviour of air
temperature, metal surface temperature and RH provides
some insight into why condensation is difficult to promote.
Figures 6–8 show that surface temperature (red line) roughly
follows the profile of air temperature fluctuations (blue line),
but is also highly influenced by RH levels (green line). In sev-
eral cases it is possible to observe that high RH had the effect
of cancelling the positive effect of decreasing air tempera-
tures, thus making it difficult for condensation to occur, even
during the confluence of high humidity rates and low air tem-
peratures. When air temperature decreases, RH increases.
This increase of humidity in the air, however, decreases the
radiative heat loss to the night sky, and thus surface tempera-
ture of the metal samples becomes sometimes higher than air
temperature, in the presence of very high humidity levels.
This cancelling effect in the generation of low temperatures,
caused by the otherwise desirable increase in RH levels, is an
important cause identified for the low occurrence of conden-
sation. It may represent a shortfall of the application of radia-
tive systems in climates where this combination of variables is
likely to occur. A more extensive analysis of the climatic char-
acteristics adequate for this type of system is required.
6 Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V
L. Caldas et al.
Looking at the average psychrometric conditions of out-
doors air during the period of the experiments, it is possible
to see that a large amount of water vapor was present in the
air. Under the measured temperature and RH conditions, an
estimated 63 g of water is present in every cubic metre of
air. However, the physical phenomena in action were not
combined in the adequate manner to create the conditions
for extraction of that water vapor from the air, in the form of
water. The following section focus on current efforts for find-
ing new, biomimicry-inspired methods to extract water from
air, and proposes a new method to address this question.
The role of biomimicry and
nanotechnology in fog capturing
Some of the ongoing efforts to optimize fog collection proc-
esses are based on mimicking nature in different ways (Azad
et al. 2015; Zhu et al. 2016). The most efficient harvesting
systems known in the planet are found either on plant leaves
or on insects, which have developed the ability to survive in
environments with very low levels of water availability,
exploiting the water content of humid air (Martorell &
Ezcurra 2002; Garrod et al. 2007; Ebner et al. 2011). An inves-
tigation on the possibilities offered by nanofabrication of
surface patterns to enhance the surface yield is presented
below. Many different approaches can be used to pursue
this objective, such as the creation of nano-textured surfaces
characterized by pillars or cones to promote condensation,
or the design of specific patterns that can be printed on
façade panels during production process to enhance drop
accumulation and direction of collected liquid to a particular
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L. Caldas et al.
location featuring larger collection devices (Wang et al.
2015; Zhang et al. 2015). Both these options require further
study and laboratory testing, but previous studies have
already demonstrated how highly hydrophobic surfaces pro-
mote condensation of suspended water droplets (Cheng
et al. 2011; Park et al. 2013; Choo et al. 2015).
Other devices for water harvesting from fog are to come
on the market in the near future, as their technology is cur-
rently under development. This is the case of such nature
mimicking systems as the plate-based fog collector, which
recalls the feeding mechanisms of shorebirds, who usually
collect water droplets on their beaks through repeated
opening and closing. Small prototype testing of this technol-
ogy, based on the use of metal plates to recall the two parts
of the shorebird beak, have already given promising results
(Heng & Luo 2014). Other nature-mimicking technologies
mimic plant leaves and rely on the presence of tridimen-
sional hierarchical structures for fog harvesting (Andrews
et al. 2011).
The phenomenon of water condensation is governed by
nucleation (Yu et al. 2012). Humid air must overcome an
energy barrier to nucleate, so tuning the chemistry and
geometry of a surface is a powerful way to change the sur-
face energy and enhance fog-water conversion. Many
attempts have been made to engineer the geometry and
chemistry of fog harvesters in order to increase their effi-
ciency. One such notable case is that of the mesh collectors.
In 2013, McKinley studied and modelled the condensation of
fog on different types of meshes, which led to the optimiza-
tion of the woven geometry, size of the holes and radius of
the wires (Park et al. 2013). Mesh fog harvesters can collect
from 1 to 10 L/m2 of water per day but their installation is lim-
ited to cliffs or hills and requires the presence of wind to
function. On the other hand, biological structures demon-
strate extraordinary fog collection abilities in a variety of
regions with different climatic conditions and do not require
moist to be carried by wind (Parker & Lawrence 2001; Zhai
et al. 2006; Ju et al. 2012; Heng & Luo 2014). The special wet-
ting abilities of such plants and animals result from the
unique micro- and nano-scale structural features on their
surfaces (Ju et al. 2012). Nanotechnology can be a powerful
means to mimic biological structures, thanks to its nanoscale
patterning capabilities.
To understand how nanotechnology can help increasing
the efficiency of fog collectors, the condensation of water
on patterned surfaces has been thoroughly researched
(Dorrer & Ruhe 2008; Narhe & Beysens 2006; Boreyko &
Chen 2009, Yu et al. 2012). The general conclusion of these
studies is that an optimal geometry to promote condensa-
tion should have a surface energy gradient, a Laplace pres-
sure differential and many points of nucleation. In plants
like the Opuntia microdasys cactus, the tip of each needle
acts like a nucleation point, then trichomes and grooves
Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V
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Water harvesting from fog
generate a strong capillary force that drag drops away
from nucleation points to achieve a continuous condensa-
tion (Ju et al. 2012) demonstrated the low-cost microfabri-
cation of a bioinspired knotted fibre that resembles a
spider web and exhibits an outstanding water collection
potential. Similarly, Andrews et al. (2011) observed how
the complex hierarchical microstructure of the Cotula
Fallax allows the plant to effectively generate nucleation of
small drops over the entirety of the leaf surface in a hydro-
phobic regime (Cassie 2 Baxter effect). More recently, Park
et al. (2016), developed a design approach based on princi-
ples derived from Namib desert beetles, cacti, and pitcher
plants that synergistically combines several aspects of con-
densation. Inspired by the role of the beetle’s bumpy sur-
face geometry in promoting condensation, and using
theoretical modelling, it was possible to maximize vapor
diffusion flux at the apex of convex millimetric bumps by
optimizing their radius of curvature and cross-sectional
shape (Park et al. 2016).
The fabrication of similar bio-inspired structures would
accelerate the development in the field of fog harvesting and
pave the way for its widespread implementation. Though,
current processes and techniques in nanotechnology hardly
enable the low-cost fabrication of complex, hierarchical,
three-dimensional (3D) structures. Recently, nanotechnology
has also started exploring fields other than electronics, and
capabilities for 3D low-cost patterning are increasingly being
researched. Even though more advancements in this area
are needed, one of the most viable solutions to manufacture
large-scale, inexpensive biomimetic structure for fog captur-
ing seems to be nanoimprint technology (NIL). NIL is a low-
cost, high-throughput lithography technique with sub-10 nm
patterning resolution that is allowing a variety of new,
unconventional applications spanning medicine, biology,
photonics and electronics (Calafiore et al. 2015). In particu-
lar, if implemented in a roll-to-roll fashion, NIL can massively
produce nano-patterned panels with biomimetic fog captur-
ing features.
Figure 9 briefly describes the fabrication process currently
being envisioned for fabrication of a Fog Harvester panel,
including mould fabrication by 3D laser lithography, nanoim-
printing lithography, resist crosslinking by UV-light, and
demoulding of the biomimicked structures. The right side of
the figure illustrates the Fog Harvester device at work, as fog
flows through the artificial barb, nucleates, and water gets
dragged to micro-channels for collection on macroscopic
pipes.
Nano-patterned panels would convert fog into water in a
wide variety of environmental conditions and in absence of
wind, just like solar panels are employed to harvest electric-
ity from sun radiation. The role of nanotechnology in this
field should be further explored, as it can enable the imple-
mentation of fog harvesting as an inexpensive, clean source
7
Water harvesting from fog
Fig. 9. Fog Harvester fabrication process (a) mould fabrication by 3D laser lithography, (b) nanoimprint lithography step, (c) resist is crosslinked by
UV-light, (d) demoulding of the biomimicked structures (e) device at work: fog flows through the artificial barb, nucleates, and gets dragged to micro-
channels for collection on macroscopic pipes. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
of fresh water, not only in arid climates but also in cooler
and more humid climate zones.
Conclusions
(1) Based on the literature review of different technolo-
gies already available on the market presented in the first
part of this work, an investigation of water harvesting from
fog in the case of radiative condensers has been performed.
In fact, the significant water volumes collected by the galvan-
ized iron roof presented in the first part of the work, even if
in particularly favourable climatic conditions, gives confi-
dence to conduct further research for fog harvesting on
metal surfaces.
(2) Fog collection potential on radiative condensers has
been assessed through a set of experiments using high emis-
sivity white paint, both uncoated and coated with a titanium
dioxide nanocoating, and placed either horizontally or tilted
towards/against prevailing wind orientations. Surface tem-
perature values were recorded for the coldest period of the
day, between 4:00 and 7:00 hours, together with environ-
mental variables such as air temperature, dew point temper-
ature and RH. It was possible to conclude that a high
emissivity painted metal material with a titanium dioxide
nanocoating placed horizontally facing the night sky will
achieve the lowest surface temperatures. In terms of metal
clad building surfaces, the fact that horizontal samples con-
sistently achieved lower surface temperatures makes the
research more likely to be adequate for roofs than facades.
These results are also consistent with the high yield reported
in the literature for radiative systems based on metal roofs.
As horizontal white metal seems to offer the most promise,
8 Water and Environment Journal 00 (2018) 00–00 V
L. Caldas et al.
an interesting synergy could exist with the field of cool roofs,
a technology used for decreasing heat gain in buildings, and
to decrease urban heat island effect. White metal cool roofs
could then double as condensation water collectors, with lit-
tle increased cost.
(3) However, an analysis of the combined behaviour of air
temperature, metal surface temperature and RH provides
insight into why condensation was difficult to promote for
much of the time the experiment run. In several cases it is
possible to observe that high RH had the effect of cancelling
the positive effect of decreasing air temperatures, thus mak-
ing it difficult for condensation to occur, even during the con-
fluence of high humidity rates and low air temperatures.
When air temperature decreases, RH increases. This
increase of humidity in the air, however, decreases the radia-
tive heat loss to the night sky, and thus surface temperature
of the metal samples becomes sometimes higher than air
temperature, in the presence of high humidity levels. This
cancelling effect caused by the otherwise desirable increase
in RH levels, was an important cause identified for the low
occurrence of condensation in the sample metal surfaces.
(4) To increase the promotion of condensation in radiative
systems, we propose the use of bio-inspired nanocoatings
that would accelerate development in the field of fog har-
vesting and pave the way for its widespread implementa-
tion. These nanocoatings would be based on the creation of
a nanoscale 3D optimal geometry designed to promote con-
densation, characterized by a surface energy gradient, a
Laplace pressure differential and many points of nucleation.
Current processes and techniques in nanotechnology hardly
enable the low-cost fabrication of complex, hierarchical, 3D
C 2018 CIWEM.
L. Caldas et al.
structures, but new advances in capabilities for 3D low-cost
patterning are increasingly being researched. The most via-
ble solution to manufacture large-scale, inexpensive biomi-
metic structure for fog capturing seems to be NIL. NIL is a
low-cost, high-throughput lithography technique with sub-
10 nm patterning resolution that, if implemented in a roll-to-
roll fashion, can massively produce nano-patterned metal
panels with biomimetic fog capturing features. These nano-
patterned panels would convert fog into water in a wide vari-
ety of environmental conditions and in absence of wind. The
role of nanotechnology in this field should be further
explored, as it can enable the implementation of fog harvest-
ing as an inexpensive, clean source of fresh water, not only
in arid climates but also in cooler and more humid climate
zones .
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank NextMaterials Srl., Italy, for
producing and shipping the titanium dioxide nanocoating
used in the experiments. We thank Jennifer Wolch, Jan Miller,
Patty Mead and Mike Bond for facilitating the use of Wurster
Hall rooftop, at UC Berkeley campus, for the experimental
setup, and the Pacific Energy and Gas Tool Lending Library
staff, namely Janette Maurer and Bill Pottinger, for supplying
part of the equipment used for measurements, and the
weather station. We would also like to thank those at Wur-
ster Hall who supported sample coating activities, namely
Ehren Tool, the ceramics studio director, and Ronald Rael
and Kent Wilson, for lending the spraying equipment and
supporting sample manufacturing.
To submit a comment on this article please go to
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/wej. For further information please
see the Author Guidelines at wileyonlinelibrary.com
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